Hello there, fellow peregrinos. Welcome to El Camino de Santiago
pilgrims. Podcast where we talk.
About planning, preparation, packing tips, tricks, hacks,
and. All things inspirational to help
you. On your way to Santiago.
And beyond. My name is Bradley Chermside, I
am the host and I'm also the. Author of The Only Ways.
West, the best selling Camino de Santiago memoir and I have
walked the Camino Frances the French way.
I've walked the Camino Portuguese, yes, the Portuguese
way. I've bought the Camino Ingles
the English way and I've walked the Camino finished there.
Enough about me. It is time to get into this
weeks episode. Lace up your boots, everybody.
We're here in the road. Hi there, fellow Perry Greenos.
Welcome to El Camino, the Santiago Pilgrims Podcast,
episode 99, where I'm going to tell you all about the winter
way, the Camino del Envierno that my wife and I finished
walking just last week. I am going to fill you in on all
of the following. Some lessons learned along the
way that are applicable to any Camino, not just the winter way.
I'll talk about a bad experience at an Albert that came
recommended in John Briley's guide.
The item I ditched this time that's been with me on every
Camino up to now, but won't be any longer.
I'll drop a hack that could save you time and money on getting
your baggage home too. It was an idea I had while
walking and it ended up saving us a lot of time and hassle as
well as money. The places on the winter way I'd
recommend to sleep, eat and visit, as well as in Santiago de
Compostela itself. Exactly why the Camino de
Livierno is now up there as one of my favorite Caminos of all
time, if not favorite of all time.
I'll share a few enchanting stories from our latest Camino
that demonstrates how that famous Camino spirit is still
very much alive and kicking. Lastly, I'll drop a few caveats
about the Winter Way and what you really should know about it
before you book your tickets. But before I do all of that, a
huge, massive thank you to all those all you lovely pilgrims
who bought me coffees since the last episode.
Our last podcast guest, Arlene Lasky was kind enough to buy ME3
coffees. Thank you so much, Arlene.
And remember everybody to please look up her book Quest for the
Enlightened Pilgrim. You can find it on Amazon.
That's Quest for the Enlightened Pilgrim.
Thanks also to Chrissy Bergen who bought ME3 coffees.
Chrissy, your support is hugely appreciated.
Thanks for all the messages and the info you sent me as well.
And thank you so much Chrissy for always being in my corner.
I really really do appreciate all your support.
It would be remiss of me not to mention Becca, Gina Purcell and
Al Engemark who also bought 3 coffees as well each.
So to all of you guys, thank you so much for your generosity,
thank you so much for your support.
It really does help motivate me to keep producing this content
totally for free for our fellow pilgrims.
Now thanks to all of those who bought those coffees because I
am in Mercia city centre in a pretty Plaza down by the river
enjoying a coffee. Thanks to all of the
aforementioned pilgrims. If anyone else would like to
support the podcast, just go to buymeacoffee.com/pilgrims
podcasts. And that's not the only way you
can support the podcast. You could also do so by
following us on Instagram and Facebook.
Just look for Camino the San Diego Pilgrims podcasts by
liking, sharing and or commenting and on our posts or
simply by just sending a message to say you're enjoying the
episodes. It does make me very happy when
you're all right to say hello. So let's get into it, you lovely
bunch, my fellow shell mates, the Kamino less traveled, the
absolutely jaw-dropping in more ways than one the winter way.
So why do I call it the road less traveled?
Well, did you know in 2025 the Winterway accounted for just
under 1% of the 530,987 pilgrims who registered at the Pilgrim
office in San Diego de Compostela?
So from that figure of more than half a million, only 4000 440
pilgrims walked it last year, compared with the French rate
242,175 and the Camino's Portuguese route 189,000
combined. That's combined with the central
and the coastal, so the road less travelled.
I say also because for the first seven days on the Camino in
Vienna, we did not see one other single Pilgrim.
The only time we saw other pilgrims was on the final day
and the point where we crossed paths with the Camino San Abres.
So for those looking for a quiet Camino, this is definitely one
to consider. I should also mention how we got
to the starting point. Very simple.
We got a train to Madrid from our home in Mercia and from
there to another train to Pomferrada, the starting point,
which is also on the Camino Francis, the very popular French
way. More than 200,000 pilgrims
walked that last year. So you'll need to get to Madrid
Chez Martin station. The high speed trains leave from
platforms 14 to 19, so this will be a transport hub for many
pilgrims walking other Caminos starting at various points
around Spain. So Madrid Shia Martin station
could well be the place to catch a connecting train if you're
flying into Madrid to get on Spanish soil.
Now then, about those must see places to eat, sleep and visit
on the winter way. On the very top of that list has
to be Bellesar in Galicia. This is on stage 6 between
Monforte de Lemos and Chantada. I was quite unprepared for the
stunning views of the lake, the tiered Green Mountain sides
dramatically dropping into it, and the natural beauty
decorating the valley, rich in vegetation and grapevines.
I felt like I'd walked into Austria or Switzerland seen from
the sound of musicals. Something like that.
Not Spain. It was absolutely mind blowing.
Rachel and I stopped in our tracks and said we didn't want
to continue, that we could stop in Belesa and never ever leave.
It was just absolutely beautiful.
Unfortunately we had to carry on because we'd already booked
accommodation elsewhere further on.
But if you can find some accommodation in Belesa and stop
there for the night, at the very least you should pencil in a
drink down on the dock by the river.
It's also a good place to rest before tackling an absolute
beast of a climb up and out of the valley.
While we're still in the belasar area, about halfway up the
mountain. From there, a place called
Bodega via Romana awaits. So why is this special?
With your pilgrim's passport, your credenthial, they'll give
you a free glass of wine from the surrounding vineyards that
you can enjoy on some wooden decking where you get even
better views of Belisar from up in the clouds.
Little shout out to Louise and Christina who came running
outside as we passed to let us know, otherwise we would have
just carried on our merry way. It was the most pleasant
surprise after a day of extremely tough trekking.
A free glass of wine where we could take in those stunning
views. There were some really good
municipal Albergs that we stayed in too.
BIA Viecha was modern, clean and a port in the proverbial storm
after a really tough climb at the end of a long first day.
I want to say modern. I think this Alberg had been
designed by a Pilgrim because every single bunk bed had its
own lamp and its own plug socket as well, which as we all know is
really, really convenient. You will need to take supplies
though, because if there's no supermarkets close by, it's a
really tiny little hamlet up there nestled at the top of the
mountain. And to book there in Bereja, you
have to e-mail the local town hall.
They then reply with an entrance code and you have to send a
picture of your passport, your ID, whatever.
With that. If you want to know the e-mail
address for that, just send me a private message on Facebook or
Instagram and I'll send you the e-mail.
You can find it on Google as well.
That's how I found it, but if you can't find it, feel free to
send me a message and I will send that to you.
The price was €10 per person per night for the Municipal Albert
in Bier Viecha. Now the same applies to the
Municipal Albert in Villa Martin, which I would highly
recommend. Lovely location right by the
Riverside. When we arrived we got our
journals, we went and sat down by the river, wrote our
journals, just listened to the the stream bubbling past,
absolutely lovely. If you are going to overnight
there at the municipal Alburga Villa Martin, you do have to
take some supplies. There are some amenities in the
local town as well but it is a fair walk away and there are
also cooking facilities as there are cooking facilities in the
Alburga via Vieja, so you can take supplies to cook that.
We cooked up some pasta and it was quick and easy.
So yes, Villa Martin, when you get there there's a number on
the door you have to call the hospital aired at Maria will
give you an entry code over the phone.
The price to stay there is €8. They did have some bottled water
on site as well for sale which came in very very handy because
it was Father's Day we when we arrived and everything was
closed. So Alburgh right down by the
river, Villa Martin, highly recommend that.
Now it was in Villa Martin that I ditched an item I'd taken.
I'd packed on every single Camino up to now.
Unfortunately me and my poncho fell out of love.
My backpack was feeling heavy because of carrying supplies.
I estimate with supplies I probably had about 7 to 8K in my
back. And one of the negatives about
the winter way is there are long stretches with no provisions, no
shops, so you do have to carry food, water and snacks for large
parts of this Camino. That is one of the negatives.
Something had to go. It was either the poncho or the
sleeping bag. I chose the poncho and left it
there for someone else who might need it.
What did I plan to use instead of the poncho?
Well I already had a waterproof cover for my backpack.
I have quick drying combat cut off trousers and a quick drying
waterproof hoodie as well. So I thought why am I carrying
in this this poncho? It's unnecessary.
I had to get spread of some weight from my back and it apart
from the sleeping bag, it was the heaviest thing.
It was also in Villa Martin that we decided to take a train and
miss out a couple of stages. Now why do we do this?
I had to reduce our trip because our dog has been very sick.
In fact, she's been that I'll we came close to cancelling it
altogether. In the end.
I thought that maybe we could squeeze 10 days into 8, but once
we started and realized how tough each stage was, The stages
are long. But also what makes it even
longer and exacerbates that is the fact that it's punctuated
frequently with some brutal long climbs.
It soon became apparent that doing squeezing 10 days into 8
wouldn't be enjoyable. To do so we'd richly have to
walk every minute of every day until we truck.
So if you've only got a week or so, you could do what we did.
Walk to the La Martin, then take a train to stay 6 at Montforte
de Lemos, missing stages four and five.
As I said, it wasn't originally our plan, but with my dog so
I'll and me thinking I could be coming home to a deceased doggie
and a traumatized dog sitter, A reduced trip seemed like the
best option in the circumstances.
The good news is my dog's still hanging in there.
So I also want to tell you quickly about some great bars
and cafes along the way, including one in Santiago where
we had a lovely meal. So eating establishment
establishments, should I say bajo cinco?
So that's BAJOBAJO cinco. Bajo cinco.
In O Barco, there's a lovely Uruguayan owner called Naya.
As soon as we walked through the door, she hit us without buen
Camino peregrinos and the service was very, very friendly.
She gave us a stamp, which is what you always want when you
start for a coffee, and before we left, she insisted we take a
shot of some weird concoction that tasted like a mix of
Baileys and Sambuca. Now it was 11:00 in the morning,
and I'm not the biggest fan of alcohol these days.
My first instinct was to say thank you, but no thank you.
But I didn't want to deflect the good energy that she was
throwing our way. And that's something that Eileen
Lasky talked about in the in the last episode, which is, you
know, keeping that good energy going.
So it was nice. I'll tell you what, it gave me a
little bit of birdies flying around my head for the next 10
minutes. But lots of character, the
owner, Naya, and really, really friendly.
And the coffee was really, really good as well.
So that Bakosin got in or Barko stopped there.
Now in a place called Shantada that is on stage 6, there's a
place called Capital Cafe and we got four really nice coffees and
two croissants. Or how much would you think that
would cost you in your own hometown?
Just take a moment to think. In my hometown back home, that
would probably set me back. I would say nigh on £20.
Here it costs half that price. It was less than a tenner, about
980, something like that. Four coffees and two huge
chocolate croissants. And it was really, really nice
as well in a place called Sierra, which is the second last
stage. And we ate at a really, really
nice place called Bar a Pedra. So that's Bar a Pedra, APEDRA,
Bar a Pedra. If you didn't get that the first
time, you can just skip back and listen to that.
It's a lovely lady called Rosalina that runs that place
and the food was excellent and she topped it off with a really
nice Biscoff cheesecake, which was very, very, very naughty,
but very, very, very nice. On the final stage, there was a
place called Hostile O Crusado in Ponte Uya.
Hostile O Crusado in Ponte Uya, Great food with a really nice
meal and we got fantastic lodgings which was our own
private room and private bathroom for just €33, so I
highly recommend all of those places.
Lastly, in Santiago de Compostela, in a quiet
backstreet with views of the cathedral, we ate at a place
called a Fuego Lento. That's a Fuego Lento.
The tapas, should I say, was absolutely excellent.
And cold beer, warm afternoon, silky as anything.
Really, really recommend that place.
So why did we, why did I fall in love with the Camino de
Liviernon? Why is it possibly my favorite
Camino of all time right now? Well, the first few days from
Castilla Ilean we were escorted out of Ponferada and into the
countryside by snow capped mountains.
And that's one of the lovely things about walking in spring.
You've still got snow on the mountains and you've got the
winter Thor running next to you most of the way.
Absolutely lovely. And part of that winter for was
feeding the the white water Rivers, waterfalls just came out
of nowhere. Frequently you've been walking
along, you hear the sound of running water and before you
knew it, there was a waterfall just right by you.
You could stick your hands in it.
It's just absolutely lovely, stunning countryside, really
colourful spring in full bloom. The butterflies bouncing along
all the way with us too. Really, really nice, beautiful,
uplifting Camino. It was really quiet, as I
mentioned before, we only saw pilgrims on the final day when
we crossed paths with the San Abreast.
And the Camino spirit is well and truly alive.
And the locals? So lovely, so friendly, so
approachable, so full of life, so inspiring with their good
energy and how helpful they were.
And I'll get into a few stories about the locals in a moment,
which really embodied there's everything that's good about the
Camino. There was very little roadside
walking to which I really, really liked.
If you hit roads, you weren't on the road for long.
And I can just remember walking the Camino Portuguese in Lisbon
and Porto and thinking, God, this is horrible.
I'm just walking along roads. There's points where I had to
jump into ditches and to to avoid traffic.
There was very, very little of that.
If if none of that. Obviously I can't speak for days
4:00 and 5:00, but it doesn't look like from the from the
guide book, from John Briley's excellent guide book that there
is any of that. So yeah, very little roadside
walking and waymarks were very, very good too.
I really think this Camino was mapped out by someone who had
walked many Caminos and knew exactly what they were doing.
And we're looking it at it from the point of view, from the
mindset of a Pilgrim. So about those nice stories that
embody everything that's good about the Camino and about why
the locals and how the locals were so lovely, friendly and
approachable. So there's one day I was walking
off into the middle of into the middle of nowhere.
I'd walked past the Camino sign, Rachel would stop to take some
photos. So we'd got to separate it a
little bit. And I was in a little village
and I started walking off as you do, kind of lost in your
thoughts. And someone shouted out their
window. An old lady shattered out of
their window. Peregrino Poraki.
Poraki, which is pretty much Pilgrim.
This way, this way, you've gone the wrong way.
She didn't have to do that. She could have just watched me
walk off into the middle of nowhere.
It might have been quite funny for her.
But no, she was actually really, really nice.
And yeah, just really nice to know that the locals have got
you back. So anyone that's walking on your
own, you can have that support network out there in the in the
shape of the locals. There was a moment where we're
about 3 kilometers from a town. It was the end of the day.
The sun was coming down, and there was a farmer on the back
of a tractor who shouted to us, only a little bit to go.
Keep going, guys. Keep going, guys.
You know, he didn't have to do that.
And I just thought, you know, these are just such magical
moments. And I found myself feeling so
grateful in these turbulent times to be experiencing such
moments of peace. This episode is sponsored by my
Camino de Santiago best selling memoir, The Only Way is W.
One of the latest five star reviews goes a little something
like this reviewed by Mel in the United Kingdom.
I absolutely loved it. It was refreshing and
entertaining in the way it was written.
I was Googling the places he stopped at and the towns and
villages he walked along the way.
It almost made me want to walk the Camino de Santiago myself.
Then I bought a glass of wine and read some more.
Can't blame you for that Mel. A very well written book.
I'm now going to read his second book Not From Round Here.
So if you'd like a refreshing and entertaining read about the
Camino de Santiago, then look no further.
Search on Amazon for The Only Way is West by Bradley
Chermside. There was another lovely moment.
We were walking out of Chantala early morning and there was an
older lady and as we walked past, she came out of a bakery.
She saw us both. She put her hands into a prayer
pose, bowed and said Buen Camino peregrinos, which was just so
lovely. It's the little things, isn't
it? And I was thinking on this
Camino about not only is the Camino about rewilding, waking
up with the sunset, going to bed.
Sorry, waking up with the sunrise, going to bed with the
sunsets, spending all day outdoors, being out amongst
nature, being amongst the animals, as you always end up
doing on the Camino. I can't tell you how many times
I had to stop to let cows go past with their farmers this
time. And it's also the, the Spanish,
because time has stood still in so many of these places.
People are not stuck to their phones.
They're out there working in agriculture.
They're doing what they do in their fields, doing what they do
in their gardens, doing what they do with the in the, in the
grapevines. And it's just a way not only to,
to rewild but rehuman just what it's like to just speak to
people, strangers. There's a really nice moment
where I walk past 1 village and as I was walking out there was
an older gentleman and he said to me, did you manage to fill
out with water? And I said, well, no actually
because I already did so in the previous town.
He said, oh, you made a mistake, you should have filled up here.
We've been drinking this water for 60 years.
The best water you'll find anywhere.
And like I say, it's like times to steal someone being proud of
their water supply. I just felt that was so, so
lovely and just how the locals interact with you and they don't
have to, you know, they could just let us walk on past.
But they, that Camino spirit, that famous Camino spirit is
really alive. And it might because it is the
road less travelled and they're not used to seeing pilgrims.
So it's quite a nice treat for them when they do.
But whatever the reason, the locals really put some bounce in
our boots, springing our step. And it made me feel really good
about living in Spain, made me feel really grateful to be a
British person being able to live in this wonderful country.
And I am just a foreigner and they're just treating me so
nice. And these in these times of anti
foreigner sentiment, it's just really, really nice to hear.
Like time stood still. They're not affected by what's
going on. So what else was special about
the Camino? I mean, I've already mentioned
it. Those snow capped mountains, the
white water rivers, the waterfalls, spring bloom.
And one more special, special moment was when we were walking
into Santiago. So just when we thought we'd
done all the beastly inclines and heals as we got into
Santiago, there was one more to do leading us into the city
center. We just couldn't believe it.
It was like a stairway. A vertiginous stairway to heaven
and I I even called the Camino a name.
I called it a bad name. I won't repeat it.
I was like, oh you absolute beep.
I was angry. But anyway, we're walking up the
hill, me and Rachel trudging up the final stretch, tough climb
into the city center and there was a car at junction that I
gestured to let past the older gentleman in the car.
The old boy in the car bear a on cigar in his mouth.
He gestured for us to pass, which we gratefully accepted.
As we did, he wound down his window.
Now he didn't buzz it down because it wasn't an electric
window. He he wound it down in his old
motor and he insisted that he called us over, called me over.
He was stopping traffic as well behind him.
I felt bad because all the traffic was behind him, but he
did. He made a point to make A to
make a stop to do this. Take time to do this.
He pulled out of his pocket a prayer card, a Santiago Apostle
prayer card, and he gave it to me.
And Rachel was in tears. Not only because it had been a
tough Camino and she was happy to arrive in Santiago, but
because she's a very, very devout Catholic and it meant a
lot to her. And because some old boy had
taken the time to give us a prayer card and I translated it
for her as we walked in and and she was in tears as we walked in
the Santiago. So it was a really, really nice
moment. And another MO, another example
of how choosing to do the Camino, deciding to the Camino
is one of the best presents you can ever give to yourself.
It gives you a lift, even if you didn't know you needed one.
I can honestly say when I went on this Camino, I didn't know I
was down in the down in the doldrums, but I really was.
I think I've been doing a lot of work and spend a lot of time
staring at my screen working on my third book.
And yeah, it was all work and and no play, not a lot of social
time because I've been stuck indoors doing this when I wasn't
gigging. So yeah, but once I got out into
nature, out in the open, interacting with the
delightfully enchanting locals, that the Camino really lifted me
up. So yeah, the Camino has some
magic power. I don't know what it is.
I wish I could bottle it and take a drink of it every day.
OK, Now I did mention a bad experience and this came in some
accommodation that was recommended in John Briley's
Camino in Vietnam guide book. I must say the guide book was
excellent. Most of the time.
The information was really, really reliable and I don't know
if there's been updated version since 2024 when I bought this,
this guidebook, this John Bradley guidebook.
But it was a lesson learned. So the accommodation would like
a squat and I'd already broken the golden rule of looking
checking accommodation before buying it because it came
recommended in the Bradley guide.
So I thought, well it's in the Bradley guide, it must be good.
Had already paid for the meal as well before we came down and ate
it. And mine was barely edible.
It was cold. Rachel's supposedly vegetarian
soup had piece of meat in it. The owner had obviously just
tried to pick the pieces of meat out manually, which was pretty
grim. There was no hot water running
for the first few hours. In the end they did get the
whole water running, thankfully. And because, you know, we paid
nearly €40 for this room, we just expected it to have hot
water. OK, first world problems,
granted, but when you pay £40 for room, you do expect to have
hot water and you don't expect it to look like a squat either.
And the moral of the story here was, even if it comes
recommended by someone, still check it.
That's what I learned. And I'm not going to mention
the, the place because that wouldn't be fair on the place.
I would just say please do check the just check your
accommodation. You can make your, your own,
draw your own conclusions once you've checked it.
And I will also say that we didn't go anywhere else in that
particular town because there's, there was nowhere else to stay
in that town. We'd already paid our money.
We couldn't go anywhere else. So we just had to, you know, we
just had to, it was tough cheese.
It was a case of tough cheese. Just say it's only for one
night, we'll survive. And that's that.
That was one lesson. Here's a few more.
So another one would be to carry some water filtration device,
some form of water filtration device.
Because like I said before, there are long stretches where
you, there aren't any supermarkets, there are only
water fountains that you can fill up.
And many of them, it didn't say if it was drinkable or not
drinkable. It was just a water fountain.
The way I decided to make my own mind up over that was how it
tasted. If it tasted a bit a bit rough,
a bit chemically, I didn't fill up.
And if it didn't, then I did fill up.
I managed to drop in a few electrolyte tablets which gave
it some some flavour, which made it more palatable.
But yeah, I would carry some form of water filtration device
on the Camino in Vietnam and maybe on another Camino
actually, because, you know, you don't know when you might run
out of water and need to fill up.
So that's one thing I learned. And a water filtration device in
the formation of tablets wouldn't weigh so much.
I also learned the hard way here not to wear black because even
when the sunshine is weaker in springtime and winter, it can
still get hot once that sun comes up.
So I wouldn't take a black waterproof hoodie like I took
with me this time. Something that reflects the sun,
not absorbs the sun. OK, it sounds like I'm teaching
you to suck eggs, but I just. I made that mistake.
So who's saying someone else wouldn't?
Don't carry a poncho for the aforementioned reasons.
You can just get a lightweight backpack cover, have a
waterproof top as long as you're with all the materials you're
wearing. A quick try they'll they'll try
while you're walking. Also for the Camino in Vietnam
specifically, try to make a 14 day itinerary to make it less
demanding and more enjoyable and not have to walk 30 + K every
day. And to boot, you've got lots of
inclines that make that 30 K even longer for the accumulation
ascent. I would also like to mention
that Scotch Guard really does work.
So Scotch Guard is a spray that I put onto my Skechers running
shoes that were not waterproof. Scotch Guard, Scotch Guard makes
them waterproof. Or at least I hoped it did.
And yes, it bloody well did. There were times when we were
walking over cobblestones or terrain where the winter thaw,
the spring thaw should I say, was actually running on the
Camino path and you had to pretty much splash your weight
along the Camino and water did not get into my shoes or make my
socks wet. So if you want to take a
lightweight running shoe and then waterproof, it was Scotch
Guard spray. That really does work.
Hiking poles. I never used them before.
I used Rachels every now and again and I have to say I'm
converted. It really helps you when you're
going uphill to propel you uphill, really helps you when
you're going downhill. By all accounts, it does take
some of the force out of your joints as well.
I'm converted on using them and I didn't use them all the time
this time because obviously they were Rachels, but she was trying
to get convinced me to use them. So I did try them out.
Really like them and thank you to the Shell toucher for sending
us those walking pole tips. And look up shelltoucher.com for
loads of his merchandiseshelltoucher.com for
lots of his merchandise and what else?
Ah, mistake I made here. If you want to get the bus to
Santiago Airport from the city centre, make sure you get it
from the train station because we went out early morning to get
a bus to the airport and I was told I could get it from the
city centre. Well, actually Google told me I
could get it from the city centre.
AI told me I could get it from the city centre.
So I went to the city centre, but it did not come along and it
was only when I hurriedly jumped in a taxi so I wasn't late for a
plane that well, I saw a long queue of pilgrims getting onto
the airport bus. That airport bus will cost you
between 1:00 and 3:00, EUR 1 to €3.
I couldn't exactly how much it cost this time because I never
got on it. It was €1.00 the last time I did
it, €1.00 last time I did it, but I have a sneaker suspicion
it may have gone up a couple of EUR.
So yes, sit Airbus 6, say don't get a taxi for 24 quid like we
did. You can get a tax a bus should I
say for around about 1 to €3. Talking of saving cash, how did
what was the travel hack that I mentioned?
So as I was walking, I thought, you know what?
Why don't I, when I get to Santiago the Compostela, why
don't I go to the post office and see if I can send our
rucksacks home with the Postal Service in Spain?
And we could. It was a lovely surprise.
So instead of. Having to pay to take our bag on
two different planes because I had to get 2 planes home.
Santiago, Barcelona, Barcelona, Mauricio.
I managed to get it sent home for €27.00 each bag.
Now it was would have cost more than that to send the bags.
Not only would have had to pay more, I would have to check it
in twice, pick it up twice, save the lot hassle.
Didn't have to carry my bag around the airports as well, and
three days later it got delivered to my house.
Now, I know not everybody lives in Spain.
If you do live in Spain, you can do that.
But if you live internationally and you're sending it to America
or the UK or wherever the likelihood hood is is probably
cheaper and easier to just put it on the plane.
But it might be just checking out how much it might be to UPS
at home. If you're thinking of staying on
for a couple of days, visit in Santiago or doing an extra trip
somewhere else and you don't want to carry your Pilgrim stuff
around with you, you could send it home.
It might be worth investigating how much it cost you to send
your bag home from Santiago instead of checking it in,
having to pick it up and all that kind of stuff.
So that was a travel hack that really saved US time, money, and
hassle. I would also say a lesson
learned here was, or a lesson reaffirmed is that Vaseline on
the feet really, really works. No blisters yet again.
And I took my socks off halfway through every day, put the
Vaseline on the feet again halfway through the day, and I
had no blisters, which I was really, really, really happy
about. So those are the lessons learned
from this Camino, lessons that can be applied to all Caminos.
To round up about the Winter way, here we go.
If you are looking for a quiet Camino studded with snow capped
mountains, waterfalls and Riverside walking, this could be
the one for you. But really important to take
into account, the Winter way is not for beginners.
There are very many long stretches with no facilities, so
there are many days when you have to load up with water and
snacks to keep you going. Neither is this a Camino to just
go with the flow. It is not abundant with
accommodation options. It's not abundant with
supermarkets and shops you can stop in or pharmacies along the
way. You need to plan your steps,
your stops, your accommodation, your itinerary in advance.
Highly, highly, highly recommended to do so.
Were I to walk the Camino in Vietnam again, I would, like I
said before, set aside 14 days of walking to make it more
enjoyable and drinking those stunning views that lifted me up
all the way. There was one point where on the
second day between Las Medulas and a town called Puente de
Domingo Flores, I was walking down the mountain and the snow
capped peaks were extending as far as the I could see mountain
tops of different heights, snow capped peaks and I was walking
down the mountain. There was a waterfall dropping
into a white water river way down below.
From a very high vantage point, the mountain sides were covered
in dense forests. And I don't think I've ever seen
natural beauty like it. And I just laughed.
I don't know why I laughed. I put my hands on my head and
laughed as if to say, how is something this beautiful even
possible? So grateful for that moment,
like I said in these turbulent times and I felt so lucky and
privileged to be in Spain, a country that's let me live here.
Just a moment where I, my spine shivered, I had goosebumps, the
hairs on my arms were an end, and I just was so grateful for
those views and the natural beauty and Mother Nature showing
off in front of my eyes. And so no, there were quite a
few moments like this on the Camino in Vienna where I just
laughed at how beautiful it was. The only time I've ever seen
beauty rival to that, I think was when walking from San Jean
Bien, the port to Launces Fayes in the Pyrenees.
The walk up in the Pyrenees between as you cross the French
border, that took my breath away as well.
And there's many moments in the Camino in Vienna that took my
breath away, as did the generosity of the locals.
As did just like the charming animals, the goats, the sheep,
the cows that just keep you company when there's no one else
around. So the Camino in Vietnam very
much gets the thumbs up from me, very much gets the thumbs up
from us. If you're looking for a new
Camino, then definitely consider this one.
If you're experienced, whatever Camino you're going out on to
next, I'd like to wish you every single one of you when coming.